A NATION CHALLENGED: THE FRONT

By DAVID ROHDE

Published: October 8, 2001

TOPDARA, Afghanistan, Monday, Oct. 8—
Under a clear sky lit by a three-quarters moon, a steady bombardment of Kabul began Sunday night, sending bright flashes of light and loud concussions rolling across this farming plain just 35 miles north of the Afghan capital.

The American strikes involved single heavy bombs thunderously detonating on targets. Each impact lit up small sections of the plain and sent concussions echoing off the surrounding mountains for 15 seconds.

American jets could not be seen or heard here, so the bombs fell silently from the sky, their detonations resounding with no warning and their flashes appearing unannounced.

The strikes, which began just before 9 p.m. Sunday here, prompted cheers and excited chatter from scores of Northern Alliance fighters manning mountainside positions in this village 2,000 feet above the strategic Shamali Plain that separates the main Afghan opposition force from Kabul.

Since the attacks in the United States on Sept. 11, the Northern Alliance has become a chief focus of American-led efforts to topple the militant Islamic Taliban government that harbors the terrorism suspect Osama bin Laden.

Indications of close recent coordination between the alliance and the Bush administration were reinforced Sunday when, hours before the bombing started, an alliance leader said the American military action was imminent.

That coordination was also evident on the ground. Several hours after the American bombing began, forces of the Northern Alliance, which has been battling the ruling Taliban for six years, began firing rocket salvos at Taliban positions.

The salvos of Soviet-made rockets -- fired half a dozen at a time -- looked like fireworks at first and left long red tails of fire streaming behind each projectile.

But when the rockets, which are designed to land in unison and pulverize a several-square-acre area, struck their targets, they sent tremendous concussions of their own rolling across the plain.

It was impossible to judge Sunday what impact the American bombs or the alliance rockets were having, or whether any civilian targets had been hit. There was little evidence of Taliban forces returning fire.

Until midnight, lights could be seen and even an occasional vehicle convoy on the Taliban side of the front line. But after several hours of bombing, areas under Taliban control were black, lifeless and empty.

The strikes immediately led to a flow of refugees. At 2:45 this morning, 50 men, women and children were seen fleeing north away from the front line out of the village of Ravat.

They carried their clothes and other belongings on their heads, but made little noise as they rushed out of the area. Rahim Shah, an elderly man whose eyes were wide with fear, said that he and other villagers had been ordered to leave by alliance military commanders. ''According to the commander,'' he said, ''we must leave.''

It was after a surprisingly detailed prediction of bombing, made by the Northern Alliance's designated foreign minister, Dr. Abdullah Abdullah, that the offensive began.

He declined to say whether American officials had specifically warned him of the attack or given him details of what was to occur. He simply said that ''a very reliable source'' had warned him of the impending military action, but added that he had been in touch with American officials ''a few hours ago.''

In a broad and confident statement, Dr. Abdullah said that bombing was ''imminent'' and went on to list which cities would be major targets in the attack.

He predicted that the Taliban could begin losing control of the country within days. ''My anticipation is that within a few days the Taliban will totally lose control of the situation,'' he said. ''They will lose command and control.'' Dr. Abdullah said there were no American soldiers on the ground in territory controlled by the Northern Alliance.

Whether there was any basis for Dr. Abdullah's confidence was unclear. American strikes on the Shamali Plain were limited, a disappointment to alliance forces that had hoped it would be hit hard to soften up Taliban positions ahead of a possible advance.

The tantalizingly flat Shamali Plain extends to the Afghan capital, and rebel officials have suggested that under the right conditions, supported by American bombing, they might move toward Kabul, where the Taliban government is based.

It was not clear Sunday night whether the American bombardment was heavy enough or if alliance forces, which have struggled to hold their own ground here in recent years, would make any headway.

The alliance is a fragmented force, with three strongholds scattered around the northern part of the country, troubled by enormous logistical difficulties in connecting its efforts and resupplying its forces in the position closest to Kabul. Its forces number about 15,000 against an estimated 40,000 men in the Taliban army.

Alliance commanders in northern Afghanistan, near the border with Tajikistan, where most of the force's more modern materiel is based, say they have already started a westward offensive toward the main Taliban-held northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif.

Gen. Abdul Rashid Dostum, an alliance commander, said Sunday that his forces were attacking the city on two fronts. There was no independent means of confirming these claims.